SEMESTER AT SEA COURSE SYLLABUS

Discipline: Media Studies

Semester and Year: Fall 2009
MDST 3206: Introduction to Documentary Production
Upper Division
Faculty Name: Paul R. Wagner

Pre-requisites: Introductory coursework or experience in shooting and editing motion pictures.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Communications: Documentary Filmmaking – Before he was a filmmaker, the man known as the
“father of documentary filmmaking” was an explorer. In 1913, Robert Flaherty brought a camera
along on a journey to the Hudson Bay region of Canada. The result was Nanook of the North,
widely regarded as the first documentary film. Following in Flaherty’s footsteps we will learn
the art and craft of the documentary film and apply those skills to the creation of films
documenting life in our ports-of-call. Emphasis will be on production and post-production
concepts, including directorial point-of-view, camera style, scene coverage, story construction,
editing rhythm, appropriate technology and the filmmaker-subject relationship. Instruction in,
and the practice of, these production techniques will be complimented by consideration of the
history, traditions and ethics of documentary filmmaking especially as they relate to the
documentation of other cultures.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

•
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To master technical skills in the use of the digital camera and the non-linear editing system.

•
To acquire and practice accepted standards of documentary craftsmanship.

•
To conceptualize and articulate a fluent story in filmic form.

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To develop one’s personal artistic vision as a filmmaker.

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To gain a historical and critical understanding of the practice of documentary filmmaking.
To creatively and ethically document the world cultures encountered in our ports-of-call.

TOPICAL OUTLINE OF COURSE

(Subject to change, the course follows the B sequence of classes. Reading assignments are to be
completed prior to the class period.)

• Lecture/discussion on the nature of documentary filmmaking.

Class 1

• Explanation of course goals, requirements and evaluation.

• Review of video camera technical operation.
Reading: Aufderheide, Chapter 1, Defining the Documentary
Ascher/Pincus Chapter 3, The Video Camcorder

• Lecture/practice on topics in the craft of camera and sound recording, including framing,
Class 2

movement, lighting, microphone selection and control, etc.

Reading: Ascher/Pincus, Chapter 4, 5 and 12, The Lens, The Video Image, Lighting

• Lecture/discussion on documentary film ethics and the filmmaker-subject relationship

Class 3

• Planning for Cadiz and Casablanca shoots, including subject choice, research, story
treatment, stylistic approach, coverage, crew responsibilities and scheduling.

Reading: Ascher/Pincus, Chapter 9, The Shoot

Cadiz, Spain – FDP: group field trip with instructor to Cadiz neighborhood on the first or
last day in port

Casablanca, Morocco – individual student video shoots

• Review of Cadiz group footage, including a comparison of intentions and results.

Class 4

• Lecture/discussion on documentary film conceptualization, including analysis of story /

theme / characterization, and creative approach, including directorial point-of-view /
style / tone.

Reading: Nichols, Chapter 1, Why Are Ethical Issues Central to Documentary Filmmaking?

• Review of Casablanca individual footage, comparing intentions and results.

Class 5

• Lecture/discussion of the three individual projects to be filmed by students in Africa,

South Asia and the Far East.

Reading: Sherman, Chapter 5, Projecting the Self: Filmic Technique and Construction

• Planning for Accra group shoot, including subject choice, etc. (see description of
Class B6

• Discuss student concepts for their African documentary, to be filmed in Ghana, South
planning for Cadiz and Casablanca, above).

Africa or Mauritius.

Reading: Nichols, Chapter 7, How Have Documentaries Addressed Social and Political Issues?
Accra, Ghana – FDP: group field trip with instructor to Accra neighborhood on the first or
last day in port, in addition to individual student video shoots.

• Quiz on camera, elements of production, and documentary film conceptualization.

Class B7

• Discuss student concepts for their African documentary, to be filmed in South Africa or
Mauritius.

• Review of non-linear editing system technical operation.

Class B8

• Lecture/discussion on the relationship between shooting and editing, demonstrated by

editing some of the Cadiz and Accra footage as examples of how decisions in the field

• Discuss student concepts for their African documentary, to be filmed in South Africa or
affect decisions in the editing room.

Mauritius.

Reading: Ascher/Pincus, Chapter 13, Picture and Dialogue Editing

• Lecture/discussion on topics in editing craft/theory, including the evaluation of footage,

Class B9

• Discuss student concepts for their African documentary, to be filmed in South Africa or
story construction and the writing of an editing script.

Mauritius.

Reading: Ascher/Pincus, Chapter 14, Editing Video

Cape Town, South Africa - individual student video shoots.

• Lecture/discussion on topics in editing craft/theory, including continuity vs. montage

Class B10

editing styles, shot selection and timing, and sequence structure and rhythm.

• Lecture/discussion on documentary film genre, including a screening of examples of

Class B11

expository, scripted, verite/direct cinema, reflexive/personal, ethnographic and other

• Screening and critique of roughcuts of student African films and discussion of plans for
forms.

South Asia documentaries, to be filmed in India or Vietnam.

Reading: Aufderheide, Chapter 2, Subgenres

Nichols, Chapter 6, What Types of Documentaries Are There?

Port Louis, Mauritius - individual student video shoots.

• Lecture/discussion on documentary film history, including a screening of excerpts of

Class B12
 •
landmark films drawn from pertinent regions and periods.
Screening and critique of roughcuts of student African films and discussion of plans for
South Asia documentaries, to be filmed in India or Vietnam.

• Quiz on editing craft/theory and documentary film genre.

Class B13

• Screening and critique of roughcuts of student African films and discussion of plans for
South Asia documentaries, to be filmed in India or Vietnam.

Reading: Ellis/McLane, Chapter 17, English-Language Documentary in the 1990s and Beyond—
Reality Bytes

Chennai, India - individual student video shoots.

• Screening and critique of roughcuts of student African films and discussion of plans for
Class B14

South Asia documentaries, to be filmed in Vietnam.

• Lecture/discussion on topics in documentary film theory, including semiotics and

Class B15

• Screening and critique of roughcuts of student South Asia films and discussion of plans
questions of meaning, audience and the contemporary media landscape.

for Far East documentaries, to be filmed in China or Japan.

Reading: Aufderheide, Chapter 3, Conclusion

Ellis/McLane Chapter 18, Some Other Ways to Think About Documentaries

• Screening and critique of roughcuts of student South Asia films and discussion of plans
Class B16

for Far East documentaries, to be filmed in China or Japan.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - individual student video shoots.

• Screening and critique of roughcuts of student South Asia films and discussion of plans
Class B17

for Far East documentaries, to be filmed in China or Japan.

Hong Kong/Shanghai, China - individual student video shoots.

• Screening and critique of roughcuts of student South Asia films and discussion of plans
Class B18

for Far East documentaries, to be filmed in China or Japan.

Kobe/Yokohama, Japan - individual student video shoots.

 • Lecture/discussion on concepts of sound and music editing, including style and tone, use
Class B19

• Screening and critique of roughcuts of student Far East films.

in montages and transitions, and technical considerations.

Reading: Ascher/Pincus, Chapter 16, Sound Editing and Mixing

• Screening and critique of roughcuts of student Far East films.

Class B20

• Final exam on documentary filmmaking, emphasizing the synthesis of theory and

Class B21

practice.

• Screening and critique of the finished films.

Class B22

Honolulu/Hilo, Hawaii - individual student video shoots.

• Screening and critique of the finished films.

Class B23

FIELD COMPONENT

Twenty percent of the contact hours for each course is provided by field work.

There will be two Faculty Directed Practica provided: one in Cadiz, Spain and the other in Accra,
Ghana. Each will consist of a half-day filming excursion into a neighborhood near the ship in
which students will work as a group with the instructor to film a short documentary. The group
setting will allow for a real-time discussion of the filming process.

Each student will be responsible for shooting three individually produced films in three ports-of-
call drawn from each of three regions: Africa, South Asia and the Far East. Topics in each port-of-
call will be chosen by the student, devising his or her own subject or drawing from the array of
Field Component offerings, such as cultural and architectural tours of the city, cultural or folkloric
exhibitions and demonstrations, or family/home visitations. As is typical in the world of
documentary making, student filmmakers will need to exercise spontaneous judgment regarding
subject sensitivity, cultural understandings, alternative creative plans and options, personal artistic
vision and the constrictions of time, budget and schedule.

Students will be responsible for providing their own digital cameras and digital editing systems.
METHODS OF EVALUATION

Students will be evaluated on the following basis:

Quality of participation in class and in Field Component – 35%
Quality of camera footage, editing roughcuts and final films – 35%
Scores on two quizzes and final exam - 30%

REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS

AUTHOR: Patricia Aufderheide

TITLE: Documentary Film: A Very Short Introduction
PUBLISHER: Oxford University Press
ISBN #: 978-0-19-518270-5 (pbk.)
DATE/EDITION: 2007
COST: $11.95 ( $9.56 on amazon.com)

AUTHOR: Steven Ascher and Edward Pincus

TITLE: The Filmmakers Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for the Digital Age
PUBLISHER: Plume
ISBN #: 0452286786
DATE/EDITION: 2007
COST: $25.00 ($15.75 on amazon.com)

RESERVE LIBRARY LIST

AUTHOR: Bill Nichols

TITLE: Introduction to Documentary
PUBLISHER: Indiana University Press
ISBN #: 0-253-21469-6
DATE/EDITION: 2001
COST: $20.95 ($18.85 on amazon.com)

AUTHOR: Jack C. Ellis and Betsy A. McLane

TITLE: A New History of Documentary Film
PUBLISHER: Continuum
ISBN #: 0-8264-1751-5
DATE/EDITION: 2007
COST: $25.95 ($23.35 on amazon.com)

AUTHOR: Sharon C. Sherman

TITLE: Documenting Ourselves: Film, Video, and Culture
PUBLISHER: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN #: 0-8131-0934-5
DATE/EDITION: 1998
COST: $25.00